RE: HYB: leaf pigment extraction

Interesting - thanks Chuck.
I guessed it might be anthocyanin, but wondered if it might be a
different, redder pigment than some of the other anthocyanins.
All the discussion about linked carotenoid and anthocyanin pigment
production got me pondering the entire development of plants & their
parts. They produce a lot of green pigments (oil soluble, in the
plastids, chlorophyll a & b) in leaves, then all these other wierd
pigments that we enjoy so much in modified leaves that make up the
flower, but no "leaf" green.
Interesting also that a cultivar like HARVEST OF MEMORIES, with no
anthocyanin in the flowers, has a bit of anthocyanin in the leaf bases.
It's not a glaciata, tho, so I guess it must have some antho in veins
inside the center of the bloom.
Foliage on some chilled weeds gradually turns purplish here after light
frosts not cold enough to kill in the fall. Ragweed, morning glories...
<All the ones appearing red looked much more purple once the leaf was
rubbed, removing the white coating on the leaves. .. I havn't done any
extraction but have assumed it is anthocyanin as this same phenomenen
appears on many different species. ....One of the current theories that
seems to be receiving suport is that it protects plants that are
normally found in high altitudes and it protects from ultraviolet light
which could damage cells esepecially in newly germinated plants.
Chuck Chapman >
--
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
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